1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to electric trolling motors for boats and more particularly, to a retractable trolling motor assembly which is capable of automatically retracting and extending a trolling motor on a glide track mounted to the bow or deck of a boat. The retractable trolling motor assembly is further characterized by a slide bracket slidably mounted on the glide track in cooperation with a drive shaft which is journaled for rotation in the glide track and is threaded in the slide bracket. The drive shaft extends substantially the entire length of the glide track and a trolling motor bracket carrying a trolling motor shaft is pivotally attached to the slide bracket. This mechanical arrangement permits operation of the drive shaft in the clockwise and counterclockwise direction and causes the slide bracket to traverse the drive shaft and the glide track in two directions and selectively retract the trolling motor on the glide track and deploy the trolling motor in vertical, functional orientation at the end of the glide track. A primary feature of the retractable trolling motor assembly of this invention is the ease with which the trolling motor can be deployed forwardly of the bow or deck of the boat and suspended from the glide track in vertical, functional configuration with the propulsion unit located in the water and alternatively, in retracted configuration with the propulsion unit located on the glide track and above the bow or deck of the boat. The retractable trolling motor assembly can be mounted on substantially any conventional boat having a sufficiently flat area or deck in the bow for mounting the glide track and the automatic design of the retractable trolling motor assembly eliminates the requirement for an elaborate folding bracket mechanism which is necessary to manually retract and extend conventional trolling motors.
Electrically operated trolling motors are enjoying increasing popularity in such outdoor boating activities as fishing and particularly in trolling, when low speed, relatively silent boat operation is desired. These motors are easily mounted on a boat and the retractable models are usually secured to the bow of a boat such that they can be withdrawn from the water and retained inside the boat on a support bracket in retracted position when the boat is propelled at normal speeds by an outboard, inboard-outboard or jet propulsion system. As a matter of convenience, the motor mount of an electric trolling motor should be arranged in such a manner as to afford movement of the motor between a retracted or storage position and an extended or operating position with a minimum of effort and without having to manually adjust the position of the motor. Such a folding bracket system is usually mounted on a horizontal deck area at the forward end of the watercraft and a typical mounting includes a pivotal mount bracket assembly which permits depending of the motor unit from the front of the boat in vertical orientation for low speed propulsion of the boat. Alternatively, the trolling motor unit can be raised from the propulsion configuration and placed in the transport position across the deck by manual operation and retraction of folding bracket systems designed to accomplish this purpose.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various types of retractable trolling motors and brackets therefor are known in the art. Typical of these mounting systems is the "Electrically Operated Bow Mount For Trolling Motor" disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,980,039, dated Sept. 14, 1976, to Andrew R. Henning. The trolling motor disclosed in this patent is mounted on a plate which is detachably supported on the bow or deck of a boat. A gear driven by an electric motor is mounted on the mounting plate and meshes with a rack on the motor tube or shaft, to raise and lower the trolling motor in the vertical position. Raising of the motor shaft to a predetermined position trips a latch on the plate and allows the motor shaft to rotate bodily with the gear to a horizontal stowed position on the boat. U.S. Pat. No. 3,948,472, dated Apr. 6, 1976, entitled "Mounting Arrangement For Small Outboard Motors" to Silas L. Metcalf, discloses an outboard motor mounting arrangement which includes first and second links pivotally connected to a bracket. The bracket is adapted to support an outboard motor and pivotally attaches to a member which is adapted to be mounted on a boat hull for pivotal movement of the bracket relative to the member between a storage position and an operating position. A tension spring is connected between the links in order to releasably urge the engine support bracket toward the operation position. The links are arranged such that the support bracket moves substantially vertically during initial movement from the operating position toward the stored position to reduce the effort required to raise the outboard motor from the water. A "Pivotal Mount Assembly For Trolling Motors" is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,008,680, dated Feb. 26, 1977, to Charles F. Alexander, Jr. This assembly device includes a deck bracket having a housing arm pivotally mounted at one end and a gear mechanism located inside the arm has a fixed bevel gear on the pivot arm axis, which bevel gear meshes with a corresponding bevel gear on a rotatable torque tube. A drive bevel gear is secured to the opposite end and meshes with a gear sector on a coupling head pivotally mounted in the outer end of the arm. The head includes a swivel support within which the trolling motor unit is rotatably mounted. The coupling head and motor unit are located between a depending propulsion position and a transport position in response to the 180.degree. swinging of the pivot arm. The torque arm is coupled to the bevel gears by sliding couplings and is coupled to a locking device for the arm and for the gear sector in order to lock these members in the propulsion position and simultaneously release them for raising to the transport position. U.S. Pat. No. 3,580,212, dated May 25, 1971, to Warren D. Fortson, discloses a "Control and Mounting Systems for Electric Trolling Motor" which includes remotely disposed power and steering controls. The storage housing is constructed in a manner whereby a battery for the electric outboard motor assembly may be received therein and a voltage control is mounted on the housing and is operatively connected to the battery and electric motor of the outboard motor assembly, for controlling the speed of operation of the electric motor. The steering control for the outboard motor assembly includes a pair of selectively usable steering components, one of which is removably supported from the housing and is receivable in the housing for storing and the other of which is mountable directly on the outboard motor assembly and is also receivable in the housing for storage. The second mentioned steering control is provided with its own voltage control, whereby one-hand operation of the electric outboard motor assembly may be accomplished when the motor is being steered by the second steering control. U.S. Pat. No. 4,371,144 dated Feb. 1, 1983, entitled "Motor Securing Device for Watercraft" to Harry H. Godlewski, discloses a motor securing device for watercraft such as inflatable boats and rafts. The device includes a generally downwardly open securing portion which is defined by a pair of parallel walls and a connecting wall. A motor attachment portion projects generally upwardly from a rear portion of the secured section and a battery-securing shelf extends forwardly from the securing portion for securing a motor to the upwardly projecting wall. A battery positioned on the supporting shelf provides a counter-balancing action and retaining structures may also be provided to resist undesired displacement of the battery or motor-securing clamp. U.S. Pat. No. 2,901,194, dated Aug. 25, 1959, to H. W. Shontz, discloses an "Outboard Motor Lift". The outboard motor lift of this invention is characterized by a spring-loaded, folding lift arm assembly, one end of which is attached to the outboard motor and the other end extending inwardly of the boat to a brace. When it is desired to move the outboard motor from an outboard position on the transom inwardly of the boat, the motor is loosened from the transom and pulled forwardly, where it is pivoted on the linkage assembly to a position inwardly of the boat.
One of the problems which is inherent in conventional retractable trolling motor systems is the requirement of applying considerable pressure and force to the trolling motor in order to raise it from a deployed to a stored or retracted configuration on the deck of a boat. Furthermore, the raising and lowering mechanism is frequently complex in design and subject to malfunction and breakage. Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a new and improved retractable trolling motor assembly which is mounted on the bow or deck of a boat and is electrically operated to automatically and selectively deploy the trolling motor into a vertical operating position and a horizontal retracted position.
Another object of the invention is to provide a novel electrically operated bow-mounted trolling motor assembly which employs a simple and easily operated folding mechanism to achieve selective retraction and extension of a trolling motor into stored and deployed configuration, respectively.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a threaded screw-operated, retractable trolling motor assembly for selectively raising an electric trolling motor into the vertical operating position and retracting the motor into a horizontal, stored configuration on a boat deck.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide a new and improved retractable trolling motor assembly which is characterized by a fixed glide track mounted to the bow of a boat, a slide bracket slidably attached to the glide track and threadably engaging a threaded drive shaft which is rotatably journaled in the glide track and a trolling motor bracket pivotally attached to the slide bracket and carrying the shaft of a trolling motor, wherein the trolling motor is selectively positioned in a retracted configuration horizontally positioned on the glide track and in a functional, vertical extended and deployed configuration with the propulsion unit positioned in the water, by electrical operation of the drive shaft and traverse of the slide bracket along the glide track.